Phantom of the Sea
by Specter14
Summary: Danny Fenton, the son of two Merpeople-hunters, has a somewhat normal life. At least, until he almost drowns in his parents' MerPortal, and becomes a half-human, half-merman hybrid… But little does he know, he's not the only one. Mer!Danny AU. Will be pretty similar to the canon DP series, and not super AU!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everyone! This is Specter14, AKA PhantomS14 on deviantart coming to you with a brand new story! :D Well, maybe not brand new, this idea has been written about and drawn several times before.**

 **And yep, the description was correct! I am writing a MerDanny fanfic! Those who know me on DA have maybe seen my art based on the idea already. If not, you can go check it out! If not, that's fine also. I'll also be posting this story on DA so feel free to check it out there as well.**

 **I suppose we'll get started! :) Hope you enjoy this!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the show Danny Phantom.**

* * *

 _Brrring._

The sound of papers being shoved away filled the room, along with excited chatter. Chairs were noisily pushed in and students quickly filed out of the door into the sea of people in the hallway.

A thin raven-haired boy stopped at his locker, nervously looking over his shoulder before opening it. Several books were hurriedly transferred from the blue compartment to the boy's lavender backpack.

The boy jumped when a hand touched his shoulder, whipping around and holding his hands up in defense.

"Whoa there, it's just me Danny," a black-haired girl said, an amused look on her pale face. Every article of clothing she was wearing had black somewhere on it, even though the temperature was rarely below 70 degrees in the town. Her hair was pulled up into the usual half-ponytail with some left over, hanging down on both sides of her face. Her appearance was topped with purple lipstick and natural lavender eyes.

"Heh, sorry, Sam." The boy, Danny, said, rubbing his neck. "I was expecting Dash by now. He's really been a pain in the butt lately..." Blue eyes darted back to the open locker, and the boy slammed it shut.

The girl rolled her purple eyes. "If he bothers you again, _I_ can show him who's boss. He wouldn't beat up a girl, after all."

"You don't know that." An African-American boy with a red visor and glasses piped in, coming up on the other side of Danny. "Dash is a jerk, and his ego is bigger than ever since all the teachers let him off the hook, just 'cause he's the head of the volleyball team."

Danny shrugged on his backpack, and the three teenagers began their walk to the front of the school. They were alone in the hallways; the rest of the school was already long gone.

A blast of warm, salty air blew into the halls as the trio exited through the front doors. Seagulls could be heard in the distance, as well as the faint sound of crashing waves.

Amity Cove was a small beach-side town in Southern California. It may have seemed like an ordinary place, at a glance. But, for decades, the town had had a certain unique problem.

Merpeople.

Yes, you heard (or technically _read_ ) right. Viscous Mermaids and Mermen were rumored to be present in the waters in Amity Cove. Not everyone believed such a thing, of course, but two people did for sure.

Jack and Maddie Fenton were the resident Merhunters. They may have been viewed by the majority of the town as crackpots, but that didn't stop them from studying the little evidence of Merpeople, and designing inventions to fight against them. Recently, they had even designed the Fenton MerPortal, to open up another way to research and better protect their town from future attacks.

The three teenagers: Danny, Sam, and Tucker, wandered down a few blocks to the closest fast-food chain restaurant, the Nasty Burger. It was the usual joint for teens in the town.

They grabbed a booth and ordered an after-school snack. After a few minutes, a trey with a Nasty Tofu Melt, a large Nasty Burger, and order of Nasty Nuggets was brought to their table. Despite the unappetizing names, the restaurant's food actually wasn't bad.

The three munched on their food for a few minutes before continuing their conversation.

"So, Danny," Sam started, "what are your parents working on?"

Danny sighed, rolling his ice-blue eyes. "Who knows? Something crazy and dangerous for fish-people, that's for sure. Jazz and I try to avoid the subject as much as we can."

Danny and his older sister Jazz were Maddie and Jack Fenton's children, which didn't exactly help their reputations at school. Jazz was a straight A-student with high test scores and a love for psychology. On the other side of the spectrum, Danny was a low-B/high-C student, and pretty much average.

"Have they gotten any farther on their 'Fenton Portal'?" Tucker asked curiously.

"Last I heard, it wasn't working right, so I'm pretty sure they've given up on it. For now, at least." The boy said, pausing for a few seconds. "But I can't help feeling bad for them. I know they worked really hard on it, and they were pretty disappointed when it couldn't even turn on without blowing a fuse."

"Well, that's good for the Merpeople, I guess." Sam muttered, glaring at Tucker as he attempted to finish his burger in one bite. She slapped his arm, causing him to choke it onto his trey.

" _Eww_." Danny said, laughing at the display. "Tucker, please don't ever do that again!"

"I was just eating my burger and _Sam_ -"

"You were disrespecting poor, innocent animals even more than usual," Sam said, feigning horror.

"Meat is _delicious_ , it's your vegetarian junk that gets disrespected!"

The two teenagers glared at each other, before Danny put his hands on their shoulders.

"Alright guys, break it up," The blue-eyed boy intervened; he was used to being a mediator for his two friends.

"Fine, but Tucker started it." Sam stated stubbornly.

"I did not!"

"Tuck, you started it, just get over it." Danny told his friend with an eye roll.

"You always side with her!" Tucker grumbled. " _Lovebirds_..."

" _We are not lovebirds!_ " The two snapped simultaneously, drawing the attention of the people around them.

The techno-geek smirked at their blushing faces. "Denial is the first sign, you know."

"Shut up Tuck." Danny said, getting up from the booth with his empty trey. "Come on, wanna go to my house and work on homework?"

The Goth girl and techno-geek agreed, and soon the group was on the way to the beach, where the Fentons lived.

* * *

The sun was slowly dropping closer to the sea by the time they had arrived. The sky was just starting to darken, and the sun cast a bright spotlight onto the blue-green waves. Sand was kicked up as the group trudged to the large building by the water, held up by strong wooden stilts to protect it from flooding. Sea plants littered the sand around the house, and wind chimes tinkled from the porch.

"Mom, Dad, I'm here with Sam and Tucker." Danny called once they had opened the screen door. The inside of the house was decorated with chestnut furniture, a light blue theme, and lots of windows, showing the seashore in the distance.

"Hi sweetie, how was school?" A woman clad in a blue wetsuit walked into view, her red-tinted swimming goggles resting on her head and shoulder-length brown hair framing her face.

"It was fine." Danny responded with a smile. "We have some homework though."

"That's fine honey. Your dad and I have been trying to fix the Portal, but we just don't know what's wrong." She frowned in thought before looking to the other two teens. "Hello Sam, Tucker. How are you two?"

"We're fine Mrs. Fenton!" Tuck responded cheerfully, before getting elbowed by Sam.

Maddie chuckled. "Okay, I'll be in the dock house if you need me. Jazz is upstairs in her room also."

"Good luck on the Portal Mrs. Fenton!" Sam said before the trio went up the wooden steps.

Danny led the way into one of the rooms. Blue walls were adjourned with posters of planets and rocket ships. A blue and white bed was nestled in the corner, with half-open windows on one side showing the beach and letting in the salty air and the lulling sound of crashing waves.

The boy collapsed on his bed with a sigh, and opened up his backpack. His friends followed suit, and they grudgingly began on their homework.

* * *

"Jack, honey, could you pass me the Fenton Wrench?"

"Of course!" The tool transferred from his large hands to the woman's petite ones, and Maddie ducked back into the hole in the floor. The man behind her held onto her feet so she wouldn't fall in.

Jack Fenton sat back, watching his wife curiously as she attempted to repair the portal.

"Alright, let's try it again," the woman muttered, lifting her head out of the Portal and standing up. The couple backed up a few feet, and Jack flipped a few levers on the wall, before slamming a thumb down on a large green button.

The two watched the Portal eagerly as the machine powered up. The sound of rushing water filled the room, as the tunnel through the floor was linked to the ocean below. A faint blue glow bathed the room in watery light.

All of the sudden, a loud buzzing noise made the two Merhunters flinch. Sparks shot up from around the hole, igniting the water and shorting out the dock house's electricity. The room was plunged into darkness.

Maddie sighed in disappointment and brushed the wall with her fingers. Step by step, she made it to the fuse box, and she blindly reset the power.

In just a few seconds, the overhead lights flickered back on.

"Perhaps there's an issue with the design...?" Jack proposed, picking up the MerPortal's blueprints off the desk beside him. His wife came up beside and they scrutinized the paper together, searching for possible mistakes.

"Maybe the fuse protector needs to be replaced?" Maddie questioned.

"It's our only lead right now, so might as well try changing it..." The large man decided, looking down at his watch. "The hardware store's still open, if we hurry we can get it tonight."

With unspoken agreement, the two Merhunters left the dock house, flicking off the lights and bathing the room in shadows. The open portal gave off a soft, peaceful blue glow.

* * *

"I wonder what it looks like…" Tucker wondered aloud as the trio walked across the walkway to the laboratory, which floated about a dozen feet from the shore. A long walkway connected it to the cliff-side and kept it anchored to the shore. After a while of his friends begging to see it, Danny had finally given in and brought them to his parents' newest invention.

Once they had opened the door, the boy squinted into the dim room before feeling along the wall for the light switch. Once the trio could see where they were going, they traveled towards the hole in the floor, which was perhaps six feet by six feet and in the shape of an octagon. The two non-Fentons stared at the cool blue light in awe, while Danny rolled his eyes good-naturedly at their excitement.

"Okay, I showed you the portal. Can we get out of here now?" The boy said nervously, "my parents could be back here any minute. Besides, they say it doesn't work anyway."

"Come on, Danny. What if MerPeople actually _did_ exist, on the other side of that portal? Aren't you curious?" Sam asked and peered into the portal curiously. "You gotta check it out!"

"You know what, you're right." Danny said, walking up beside his friend, "Who knows what awesome, super cool things exist on the other side of that portal?"

He excitedly slipped on his white jumpsuit over his clothes. It was complete with black water-tight gloves and boots, as well as a belt with several little pockets for tools. The Fenton's logo, a green fish shape with an F in the middle, was attached onto the suit's front.

"Hang on," the purple-eyed girl said and ripped the green sticker off of his chest. "You can't go walking around with that on your chest."

He shot her a thankful look and took a deep breath. The raven-haired boy stepped forward to the edge of the octagonal hole. Salt water gently lapped at the metal, and the dull blue glow shone onto his face, reflecting somewhat maliciously in his ice blue eyes.

Determinedly, he slid into the small pool, shivering in the cold water. He waded into the middle and grinned up at his friends.

"I told you I could do it!"

Tucker snapped a picture with his PDA and Sam rolled her eyes, smiling down at the black-haired boy.

Danny looked down into the depths below him, below the metal chute he was currently in. The bottom wasn't anywhere close, as far as he could tell.

He shook his head and kicked toward the edge of the portal. The boy reached out for something to pull himself up with; he felt several ridges and what felt like a button.

"What the..." He muttered to himself after he had accidentally pushed the button. Red lights flashed and an alarm blared in the dock house, startling the three teenagers.

"What's happening?!" Sam yelled, looking frantically around.

"I don't know! Danny, what-?" Tucker broke off in shock when he saw the portal.

A toxic green glow bathed the whole room in light, and thousands of bubbles fizzled up through the hole.

Danny was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh my god, _Danny!_ " Sam choked after a minute of confusion and horror. She started to run to the portal. "We-we have to help-"

" _Wait Sam!_ " Tucker yelled over the blaring alarms and held the girl back. "We don't know what's happening, we could all end up being hurt! We need to find out how to shut it off!"

Sam swallowed back a sob and nodded. She felt overwhelming guilt for what had happened... It was her who told Danny to go into the portal in the first place!

She and Tucker hurried to the panel of buttons and levers on the wall.

"Which one turns it off?!"

" _I don't know!_ "

The two broke into frantic conversation as they debated what to do.

* * *

Seconds after the button was pushed, Danny felt little ticklish bubbles flying up around his body, and a cold wave of water hit his legs under the surface. With a strangled gasp, he was pulled under the water by a strong whirlpool.

He felt himself going down, down, until the surface looked no bigger than the moon would in the distance. He kicked ferociously, lungs and eyes burning, but he couldn't escape the strong current.

 _This is it_ , he thought sullenly. _This is how I'll die, in my parent's biggest invention, because of a stupid, reckless decision._

The last oxygen was ripped from his lungs in a cluster of bubbles, and he stared longingly at the surface as his world faded to black.

* * *

" _Fenton MerPortal now turning off._ " An automated voice droned over the alarms.

The two panicked teenagers sighed in relief when they finally found the right button to push. As the machine powered down along with the blaring red lights, they rushed toward the portal, which was slowly losing its bright green glow. The water slowly returned to its peaceful lapping state, and a black figure broke the surface, floating stomach-down. Unfamiliar tendrils of white undulated where black hair should have been.

Sam sobbed at the sight, her usual tough demeanor not present in the dire situation. Alongside Tucker, she gently grabbed the still boy's arm and pulled him closer, trying to lift him out of the dreaded hole.

"Alright, on one, two, _three_ -" they heaved up together and managed to get their friend halfway onto the metal platform.

Their hearts seemed to stop when they saw.

* * *

With a start, Danny could think again. He blearily blinked his salt-stung eyes open, coughing up salt water that had made its way into his stomach.

He felt a cold surface below him, which made his soaked body shiver. Everything felt sore and heavy, as if his limbs had turned to jello.

"S-Sam, Tuck-" he rasped, finally managing to prop himself halfway up. "Wh-what happened?" He coughed again, flinching when his throat flared from the action.

"D-Danny..." Tucker whispered, his once-chocolate skin now appearing as pale as a ghost's. He raised a shaking finger, pointing at where Danny's legs were.

Or, _should have been_.

Danny turned his head and adjusted his position to look back. His legs were glittering, and seemed to be stuck together.

He blinked a few times, and his double vision focused.

A black, shimmering tail took the place of his legs. Where his feet should have been, a pure white set of flippers twitched. A long white fin that rose and fell like waves ran down his back all the way from his waist the end of his tail.

Danny stared, experimentally trying to move his legs. His tail rose and fell, causing his flippers to splash into the open portal.

All of the sudden, a strange feeling like ice water ran over the boy, starting at his waist and splitting, traveling up and down his body. He shivered from the odd sensation, and realized that his legs were back.

He blankly looked from the portal to his shocked friends before blackness consumed his vision again.

* * *

 **... Well that was something wasn't it? xD I hope you enjoyed my take on this idea. As for my plan for this story, it should follow the series relatively closely. I will try to include most of the usual ghosts as merpeople, and put a spin on things. Please review to share your thoughts, criticisms, etc with me.**

 **Also, I have another ongoing series, If Vlad Wasn't a Fruitloop, that should be updated in the next few days. It's basically a rewrite of the normal series for if Vlad was a good ghost, and a mentor and father figure to Danny. So yeah, feel free to check that out if you want.**

 **ALSO, I have a recommendation for another MerDanny fic! Treading Water by The Full Catastrophe is a great fanfic that is updated pretty consistently, as in every few months or so. It's written really well and it's a creative take on this idea, so go check it out!**

 **Anyway thanks for reading and see ya next chapter! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm back with the next chapter! :D Sorry it took a while, things have been pretty crazy lately with school starting. Also this story isn't my top priority, with my other more popular one and all... But luckily I've gotten my inspiration back for this one!**

 **Thanks to these people for faving/following: blueflameingdragon, wrimo, e2001, gwencarson126, TimeZone13, ChangelingRin, BayGirl31, LittleHorsie, Sugar500, LunaraGK, Vanyell, Music luvz me, ImpudentMiscegenation, ShiraCr18, fallxnrobin, Armorheart, Loor101, DannyPhantomFanGirl1, Lisskers, Chrizzie1, My Daarkest Night, The Full Catastrophe, Midnight Wanderland, IceDragonGirl36, Kristen Lyn Silver, Sarourat, BlackPanther0138, .25, FariyFlare, FireDragon233, , KandyNadal, Missy Mack 1, gerli1999, jakemike33123, otakubabes, priscill1234, xiamara1804, The TRIGGERED Lemur, WolfMistwood and Zen321.**

 **Thanks to these peeps who reviewed! Gwyncarson126, ChangelingRin, TimeZone13, skyice98, ShiraCr18, The TRIGGERED Lemur (awesome name lol), The Full Catastrophe, IceDragonGirl36, and FariyFlare. Thanks so much for all those reviews in just one chapter! :D**

 **Anyway let's get right into it! I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, just the plot!**

* * *

Warmth. Darkness. Comfort. Danny sighed in bliss and shifted slightly under the warm, fluffy blankets.

... _Beep beep beep be-_

He moaned at the annoying sound and slammed a tired hand onto his nightstand, feeling around for his alarm clock and turning it off. He closed his eyes to enjoy his last few moments of peace before-

" _Danny!_ " Jazz yelled from the other side of the door. "Get up or we'll be late for school!"

With another sigh, the boy responded with an annoyed "All right, all right, I'm up!" He crawled out of the covers, shivering in the chilly air. His muscles felt sore for some reason, and his clothes felt scratchy with dried sand and salt. He frowned in confusion; he had worn his normal clothes to sleep? And why did he feel so filthy?

He shook away the unanswered questions with a shrug, and began to get ready for school. In a tired daze, unfinished homework and books were shoved into his backpack. He grabbed a clean shirt and jeans and stumbled to the bathroom to get cleaned up.

Once he had closed the door, he peeled off his dirty clothes and let them drop to the floor. His hair was stiff with sand as well, which only added to his confusion.

He reached into the shower and twisted on the faucet. Cold water shot down from the shower head, and steadily got warmer until it was steaming hot, just the way he liked it.

Stepping into the shower, Danny closed his eyes tiredly as the water covered him. After a few relaxing seconds, he felt a strange coldness in his chest. It spread up and down, making him shiver in the hot water.

Before he knew it, he had slipped. With a strangled " _whoa!_ " he fell down onto the wet shower floor.

In a matter of seconds, his memory caught up to him. He suddenly remembered what had happened the past evening. He remembered the bubbles, the otherworldly radioactive green glow, the feeling of panic as he almost drowned in his parents' biggest invention, his friends' screams, and the ominous screeching of the portal powering up.

Danny's breath caught in his throat at the memory. In slight fear of what he would see, he slowly looked down to see hundreds of black scales and glowing white fins.

He clamped a shaking hand over his mouth to keep from yelling aloud. Overwhelming horror made him feel nauseous.

He was the creature that his parents despised...

Despised enough to trap, dissect, and torture gladly when they got the chance...

He took several deep breaths and attempted to shift his weight. His tail flopped around a bit in the wet tub. There was no way he would make it within reach of the faucet, not with the heavy, immobile appendage he now had.

"Danny?" A feminine voice questioned over the falling water. "Are you okay in there?"

"Y-Yes!" He responded, frozen in fear. "I'll be out in a minute!" He lowered his voice and grumbled, " _or an hour..._ "

"Are you sure you don't need-"

"Yes! I'm fine Jazz, just relax!" The door handle jiggled, and Danny choked in panic, "No, don't come in! I told you I was fine!"

She sighed. "Fine. I'll be leaving in 5 minutes and I'll leave without you if you aren't down by then!"

The boy cursed softly and threw his weight forward, leaning over where his legs should have been and reaching for the faucet in desperation. An inch away, a half inch, finally! His hand grasped the knob and shut off the water. He breathed in relief and opened the shower door.

A few seconds later he had dried himself off the best he could. With a startled flinch, he felt the cold again around his chest, and then with the passing of two rings of light his legs were back.

He got up off the floor and hurriedly threw on his clean clothes. He would have to figure out what had happened later, when he had more time to lose.

* * *

A white and blue blur darted into the classroom just as the tardy bell rung. Danny breathed a sigh of relief and silently made his way to his desk between his friends Sam and Tucker. The class watched him in amusement as their teacher Mr. Lancer began attendance.

The boy settled down in his chair and rested his chin on his hand, staring blankly at the front of the classroom. The goth girl beside him shot a worried look at the techno-geek sitting a few desks down.

After a minute or two, a note scribbled on a scrap of paper landed on Danny's desk.

 _You OK?_

He rolled his eyes at the typical question and sent a look at his friends that said, ' _I'll tell you later._ ' They nodded in relief, and tuned in to their teacher's lesson.

Once lunch came around, the trio wandered to their table in the corner. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Sam spoke up.

"Alright, what happened yesterday?"

"I could ask you the same thing..." Danny muttered. "I woke up in my bed and didn't remember anything at first..."

"Oh, yeah..." Tucker started to explain. "We brought you up to your room after, well, you know... And we told your parents you went to bed early."

"We were so worried when you didn't text or call us..." Sam added and looked at her blue-eyed friend. "Now you tell us your side of the story."

Danny looked down, dreading telling his friends what had happened. "Well, I don't exactly _want_ to remember... But like I said before, I woke up like normal and got ready for school..."

"... _And?_ " Tucker added gently.

"Something... _strange_ happened... the same thing as yesterday after you guys rescued me from the portal..." The raven-haired boy muttered, shaking his head. "I can't believe any of this is happening. One day everything's normal and the next, I have a- _a fish tail_." He shuddered at the strange words he now could use to describe himself.

His friends looked at him in confusion and worry, reflecting his own emotions perfectly.

"So... It's permanent now?" Tucker reluctantly asked, not knowing what answer he would get.

"I don't know, Tuck..." Danny shook his head sullenly. "I just don't know..."

* * *

The Portal worked.

Jack and Maddie had returned home the past night, and their malfunctioning creation _worked_.

The octagonal opening had changed from showing a dark, empty space of the ocean below the dock house to otherworldly bright blue and green wave-like patterns, unlike anything the two Fentons had ever seen before.

They begun testing immediately, taking samples and measurements of the atmosphere around and inside the portal. Just inside, there was water. But not normal water... a strange, glowing, blue-green tinted substance that was ever so slightly thicker.

With further experimentation, they found that the substance, deemed Merwater, was partly comprised of elements completely unknown to the Earth.

They had done it. They had punched a hole through to another dimension, and what else could it contain besides Mermaids and Mermen, the creatures the Fentons had been trying to find for decades?

The sole question was how? How did the portal somehow _miraculously fix itself?_ It should have been impossible.

But it happened. And now, the two Californians possessed a working portal to a whole new dimension. Now they could conduct full-scale research on the beings they had believed existed for years, and they could start creating weapons to combat the malevolent creatures if and when they decided to torment the Earth.

The Fentons would no longer be the crazed lunatics of Amity Cove, looked down upon by other scientists and the general public alike.

They would be known as _geniuses_.

* * *

"Come on, Danny," Sam pleaded, "you can't hide from this forever!"

"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean I want anything to do with this!" Danny replied in a hushed tone. "I just want a normal life!"

"Normal is boring." Sam shot back, making her friend roll his ice blue eyes.

It had been a full week since the incident, and it may have seemed as though everything was normal again.

But Danny knew better.

The icey feeling was now constant in his chest, every so often making him shiver for no reason. But the strangest part was, he could somehow... _sense_ water, whether it was flowing through pipes in the school walls or in water bottles or even physically present in people and animals. And the ocean might as well have become an invisible magnet, because Danny always knew where it was. No matter where he happened to be, he could pinpoint which exact direction and how far away the massive body of water was located.

But, at least he had seen no sign of those weird white hoops of light. Not since the frightful morning a week before.

The trio were on their way to their usual place on the local beach that they visited every so often. Since Sam's family was rich (she tried her best to keep that secret, because she didn't want to relate in any way to the A-list of Oceanus High), her family had a private, secluded area on the beach that the three teenagers commonly spent time at.

"Yeah, she has a point, Dan," Tucker agreed after a few seconds of silent walking. "Plus... it would be useful to be aware of exactly what happened to you. You know, so something doesn't happen in front of other people..."

The blue-eyed boy cringed as he thought of his parents, and what their reactions would be if they ever found out the truth.

He had to admit that his friends were right. Something strange, weird... _supernatural_ had happened in that portal. That much was obvious. And there was no way to change that, not without giving his parents the perfect Merperson specimen to rip apart for an "experiment."

Danny shuddered and shoved that thought out of his mind, returning his attention to walking alongside his friends through the sand.

Only minutes later, the trio had trekked through a small patch of woods and emerged onto an empty white-sand beach. Three lounging chairs sat side by side in the sun, and a blue and white umbrella cast just the right amount of shade over them. A small cooler with the same color scheme rested at the umbrella's base, containing bottles of ice-cold sodas and lemonade. The waves were as beautiful as ever, sparkling in the mid-afternoon sun and creating the usual soothing sound of the beach. Small seashells were scattered in the wet sand, and there was no litter in sight. The small beach was surrounded on three sides with trees, blocking the public's view of the private property and exposing the one true view worth looking at: the ocean.

Danny swallowed. "Actually, I'm starting to think this isn't a good-"

"Nope, you're not backing down that easily." Sam shoved the nervous blue-eyed boy towards the water. "Since when are you afraid of a little water?"

" _Since it turned me into a scaley mythical creature that my parents have spent their whole lives hunting!_ " The boy whisper-shouted in fear of someone overhearing, both fear and anxiousness ringing in his voice.

"You know, he has a point there." Tucker interjected, collapsing into one of the chairs and slipping on some sunglasses.

Sam shot him a quick glare and returned her purple gaze to the nervous black-haired boy beside her. The two teenagers joined their friend on the beach chairs and sat in comfortable silence, simply stopping to listen to the music of the beach.

Danny peered out at the wide expanse of blue in front of him. The water's song seemed to be edging him on, just like his best friends were. Ever since he was practically a baby, he had spent a lot of time at the beach and in the water... but only recently did he feel a deeper connection... like the ocean was... _calling him_.

All along for the past week, the ocean had been taunting him. Always present in the back of his mind, _whispering, pulling, pleading_. And now he was finally here, at the sea's edge. The call was louder and more enticing than ever, the intense roar of the waves ringing in his ears.

After a few minutes, he finally gave in to his curiosity. He stood up and tossed his phone and house key onto the chair, not taking his blue eyes off the ocean as he pulled off his white shirt and threw it aside.

"That's the spirit!" The Goth girl cheered uncharacteristically as her friend walked closer to the water.

His feet sunk into the smooth sand more and more with each step. His toes finally made contact with the cold water, and then his lower legs, and then his knees.

There was no turning back now.

He took a deep breath of the salty air and continued wading in, not bothering to remove his blue shorts.

Before he knew it, he had been lifted off his feet by the force of the waves, the water level rising to his neck as he expertly treaded water. He waited tensely for the weird feeling to grow in his chest like it had twice a week before.

He didn't have to wait long before a familiar icy chill made him shiver as bright lights flashed into existence underwater, blinding him as the ocean swallowed him with a large, hungry wave.

He heard his friends' shouts of wonder and then horror from the shore when he was sucked under. In a panic, he tried to kick upwards, only to witness the same result as his last time swimming, trapped and drowning in a chaotic, whirling current.

 _Wait... if I'm... whatever I am now, maybe I can breathe underwater..._ He thought surprisingly calmly in his head.

He weighed his options for a few seconds before taking a cautious breath.

Several moments later, he confirmed that yes, he was still alive and conscious while (literally) breathing underwater. But... it felt strange, much different than the normal inhaling and exhaling of air. His shaking fingers rose and gently touched one side of his neck, where he could feel gentle streams of water rushing out in short bursts every time he breathed out.

 _What the... do I have freaking gills?!_

Before he could make any further observations, a set of hands grabbed him and yanked him upwards, forcing his head back above the water.

"Are you okay?!" A female voice asked frantically, eyes widening at the strangely bright white hair and glowing, neon green eyes.

Danny simply stared back, before starting to choke. Why was he feeling so suffocated all of the sudden?

Sam let go of him in surprise, and his head dunked under the water again. He took a deep breath, and the suffocating feeling was gone.

 _Yep, I have gills and I can breathe water like a fish. Great. Just great..._

Blinking in the salty water, the boy looked down to notice the large, white, sensitive flipper at the end of his tail brushing the soft sand underneath him, creating a dent in the otherwise smooth downward slope. He shuddered, surprised at how intensely he could feel each grain of sand, sliding fluidly over and under the fin. He then saw two smaller, slightly translucent fins near his hips, and watched in surprise as they angled themselves against the current, instinctively keeping him floating upright.

He felt an odd mix of fascination and horror when looking at the new, strange appendage that was now a vital part of his body.

Moving his gaze to his surroundings, he marveled at his clear view of the underwater landscape. The salt water didn't sting his eyes like it usually did, and there seemed to be an unnatural amount of light brightening up the blue-tinted atmosphere.

All of the sudden, he felt an intense urge to go deeper, deeper into the mysterious, lively world that was the ocean. From his place near the shore, he could make out dark moving shapes in the distance and a colorful arrangement of sea plants and coral gently waving in the current. His ears also seemed to pick up far-off whale songs and dolphin clicks and the whirring of boat propellers.

It was if he could feel all the water in the entire sea; his slight, minuscule sense back on the surface was nothing compared to this! He was aware of every wave, whether it was a huge, tsunami-scale mountain that roared across the ocean or a barely noticeable, delicate ripple that skimmed lightly across the surface.

He was taken in sheer awe by the incredible, mysterious, intricate, undersea world that had been right under his nose all along, but had gone completely unnoticed.

He wanted nothing more than to go explore. To see what the ocean really had to offer, and what amazing creatures were hidden in the depths. But, the human part of him wanted air, and the solid ground beneath his feet, and his friends and family by his side. But he realized with dread that they would never realize how astounding the ocean really was... They could never understand, not in the way he did.

But Danny could tell them. At least, the two people that knew what he had become in the past week.

Investigating the new environment would have to wait.

At the thought, he maneuvered himself upwards with his arms, the long black and white appendage limp in the current. His head broke the surface again, and the first thing he saw was the black-haired goth, still in soaked clothes, treading only a few feet away, and her purple eyes lit up with relief upon seeing him.

"Sorry, I didn't realize-" She started to apologize.

"It's fine, I didn't realize either until it happened." He briefly sunk underwater again to take another breath. "This is getting annoying," He commented after he rose up once more.

"I think you need a reverse snorkel." Sam commented dryly, causing the Merboy beside her to chuckle.

"Are you all right, dude?" He heard his other friend call from the shore.

"Yeah." He shouted back.

"So, how does it feel?" The techno-geek asked curiously.

"Weird, and cold..." he took another breath of water. "But I have no idea how to move with this thing." He gestured down into the water at his lower half.

"Have you tried doing the worm yet?" The black teenager suggested smartly with a laugh.

"Thanks for the tip." Danny muttered with an eye roll. Using his stupid fish tail wasn't that simple, and being used to swimming with two separately-moving limbs didn't make it any easier.

"Uh... Do you need some help?" The girl beside him asked, eyes looking through the water curiously at the black and white blur.

"Would ya pull me towards shore, please?" The boy requested, a slight joking tone in his voice as he held out one glowing hand.

"I suppose." The goth responded, amusement in her expression. She gripped his hand firmly and began to swim back to the beach, which had somehow shifted backward more then a dozen feet since Danny had last looked at it.

He took one last breath of water before he felt his tail start to drag against the waterlogged sand. He pulled himself up with Sam's added strength until he was only halfway submerged in the water, the cold waves splashing up around him and obscuring most of his lower half.

"Could you hand me a towel or something before I suffocate?"

"Sure thing, Ariel!"

A stark white flipper flew out of the water, propelling sea water directly over to the laughing teenager and effectively drenching him. "Don't _ever_ call me that again, Tucker."

"Oh come on, you know I had to make that reference!" The soaked boy protested before getting brutally kicked by the girl beside him. Even without a steel-toed boot, it was still painful.

"So drying off will make you change back to normal?" Sam asked, helping her friend awkwardly onto the dry sand and handing him a beach towel. His top half was stiffly held up by his arms, the front side of his body facing the ground, and his black and white lower half laying limply on the sand. The tail obviously didn't have the same bend at the hip and knee area as human legs did, so it looked like it was incredibly difficult and uncomfortable to lay on solid ground like he was.

The goth couldn't help but stare for a few seconds, since this was the first time since the day of the accident that she saw him like this. The white-haired boy in front of her had barely any resemblance to her friend at first glance. His skin was much more tan, and his eyes glowed an exotic green that seemed to fade to cyan blue every so often, like the ocean waves. Messy, glowing white hair flowed up in the wind as if it was underwater. His ears were now longer and pointed upwards, and they closely resembled the color and general appearance of his other white fins. At the waist, caramel skin was abruptly replaced by shiny black scales, and in addition many stark white fins added to the color scheme, including on the backs of his arms and down his spine, continuing to the largest main flipper at the end.

It was amazing, seeing what should have been a myth right in front of her eyes.

"Um... I don't know." The boy answered, startling her out of her dazed thoughts and answering her earlier question. "It should... But I think making those lights appear doesn't have to do directly with the water..." He shrugged, looking pretty out of breath from the lack of oxygen. "It's more of a... reaction to being dry, I guess. I dunno, it's hard to explain." He dried off a bit, starting with his torso and then awkwardly working down his tail.

Just then, bright lights flickered to life again. Now that they could see the event more clearly, the trio watched in amazement as two rings of sparkling white light split from each other and changed the glowing, white-haired Merman back into their friend, who still wore damp jean shorts.

He took a huge gulp of air as soon as the light disappeared. "Ah, sweet oxygen, how I've missed you."

"Technically you still breathed oxygen before, it was just dissolved in the-"

Sam simply ignored the techno-geek's snarky statement and helped her black-haired friend stand up. "How do you feel?"

The boy took a shaky breath. He had just had a tail. And breathed water. And supernaturally _felt_ water. All things that humans definitely shouldn't have been able to do.

"I'm... fine." He finally answered, surprised at how genuine his words were.

He had no idea what he had gotten himself into. But he had his friends by his side, and he knew for a fact they wouldn't abandon him no matter what happened.

Somehow, he knew deep down that everything would be okay.

He would be okay.

* * *

 **Well, I hope that longer chapter met your expectations! xD Next will be the first appearance of other Merpeople... I'm not sure who yet but it won't exactly follow the progression of the series. So yeah, I'll see how that goes...**

 **Anyway thanks for reading, and see ya next chapter! (reviews would make me happy btw lol) :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! I'm finally back with another chapter! :D**

 **Thanks to these people who faved/followed since last chapter: ImperfectIsPerfect, RCRC36, Musiclover435, bloodydragon000, LittleLuffy, Pegasus Sword Master, Vgn Golley, Meganekko83, AlecGateway, sexyshewolf, KittenClaws76, The-Pug's-Quill, Shelby the Hedgehog, ghost blue, Nicholas Dreamer, Nelliel, Dragon Historian, AquaJinx, olcia . rex, Silver Dragon Master, SuzanneK1992, kostektyw, Osomi Eithr, Panda . mornings, Random User 4849, potatoesoap, AKidWithAPen, and Rush721!**

 **Thanks to these who reviewed: ChangelingRin, ImpudentMiscegenation, Guest, ChaoticMinds, and WolfMistwood! Thanks so much for your ideas and praise, it's much appreciated! :D**

 **Response to ChangelingRin: Thanks for your questions! I was kinda assuming, like in the show, that glowing would just be light surrounding the being or something. xD For example, Nocturne is pitch black and he still has white surrounding him. Just imagine something like that I guess.. xD And as for the hip thing, I just assumed that Merpeople would have a different bone structure. Fish and other aquatic creatures can't sit up like humans can and they don't bend at the same places, so I guess that's the idea I was going for.**

 **Welp, onto the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: Danny Phantom and its characters belong to Nickelodeon/Butch Hartman.**

* * *

His tail flicked, propelling him forward several feet. He repeated the motion, slowly getting used to the weird feeling.

"Looking good out there!" He heard his best girl friend Sam call from the beach.

A content smile pulled at his lips. It had been several weeks since the accident, and just about every day he had gone swimming to get more comfortable in the water. He had finally figured out how to swim properly, and that had helped immensely.

He had never ventured far, though. He made sure to stay within eyesight of the beach, at the very least to avoid running into any aggressive sea animals, like sharks, or any of the other dangers in the ocean.

With a last glance to his friends, he dove under the water, his tail splashing the surface like a whale as he dove down, down to the sandy bottom. Green eyes sparkled as they studied colorful seashells and starfish on the ocean floor. In the distance, coral reefs and sea plants undulated in the current, schools of fish darting agilely around them.

He flipped himself over and drifted along belly-up, peering up at the rippling surface in fascination. The sun was already drifting down, slowly turning the sky purple.

With a flick of his tail, he turned around and shot towards the beach once more, ready to call it a day.

* * *

Danny sat in class the next morning, halfheartedly attempting to pay attention with the constant, distracting awareness of the water all around him.

He could pinpoint every pipe flowing through the wall, every water bottle in the classroom, the new bubbling fish tank in the corner, and even the water flowing through the veins of every living creature within twenty feet of him.

"Would anyone like to read this next passage of Romeo and Juliet? Dash, why don't you start us off." The boy smirked at his bully's expense.

 _-time in the ocean, I ran into a hammerhead. Scared the crap outta me._

He looked over towards the source of the additional noise, and confused blue eyes focused on the class fish tank in the back corner. Two small orange fish darted around, seeming to peer at him curiously.

Was he just hearing things?

With a shrug, he turned his sight back to his teacher Mr. Lancer, who was going on about the meaning of the passage in question as the bored class all but fell asleep.

After a few minutes, more quiet words made him tense. It was a similar sound to before: a gender-neutral, bubbly voice that seemed to echo from the glass tank.

 _Do you see that kid over there? He looks freaked out._

 _He keeps looking over, like he hears us... Could he be a Mer? Wow, I haven't seen one in years!_

 _He has legs, Aegir. Last time I checked, Mers had **tails.**_

 _It was just a guess, Ula. **Sheesh...**_

Danny turned his wide blue eyes to his friends, clear panic in his expression.

"I'm hearing voices. I think I'm going crazy." He muttered as quietly as he could.

Sam shot him a worried questioning look, but before she could respond-

" _Mr. Fenton, Miss Manson_ , is there a problem?"

"No, sir." The two teens answered, the goth girl shooting an intimidating glare at the snickering A-list.

"Good. Now back to..." the teacher continued the lesson, the brief excitement dying down as quickly as it had started.

 _I agree, there's definitely something strange about that human..._

Danny flinched, tempted to clamp his hands over his ears to see if that helped. Of course, that wouldn't look very good during a teacher's lecture, but he was getting desperate.

 _Hey, kid, can you hear us?_

 _The voices are asking me questions now_ , the boy thought to himself, ready to have a mental breakdown if he hadn't been surrounded by several dozen people.

 _So he **is** a Mer. How peculiar..._

 _Kid, where's your tail? And why are you in a high school classroom with a bunch of humans?_

Blue eyes looked over again, seeing the two fish faced towards him in their tank, every so often flicking their little fins to refrain from sinking.

 _Yep, I'm definitely going crazy. Fish are talking to me._

 _Child, you're not 'going crazy,'_ The gentler voice responded sympathetically. _Aren't you a Merman? It's the only way you could possibly hear us, not to mention replying._

 _Poor kid. Not quite a human, not quite a Mer. I wonder how he got like that..._

 _Don't be rude, Aegir._

Danny cringed when the bell rang loudly compared to the almost silent conversation of the fish. He began packing up his stuff, every so often shooting a nervous glance in the direction of the class pets.

He rushed out the door, his two best friends following in concern.

 _Goodbye, nice talking to you!_

 _See you tomorrow, kid!_

He ran full speed down the hallway, not once looking back.

* * *

The Fenton household was silent and still, strange for the usually lively and chaotic home of inventors.

The dock house ever so slightly rise and fell with the waves, connected to the shore only by the floating wooden walkway. Inside, darkness shadowed the room, lit up with gentle blue and green light from the now-functioning Fenton Portal, which was the first permanent man-made doorway between the two dimensions.

All of the sudden, a bright light disturbed the peace, filling the lab with a supernatural white glow.

For the first time, a figure emerged from the previously flat portal, halting halfway through with an expression of pure wonder. After the realization of what had happened, the figure grinned, showing dozens of pointy teeth.

A huge wall of water slapped against the ceiling within seconds, completely filling the room and lifting up various inventions and trinkets, which floated weightlessly away from their previous spot. The dark shape darted across the lab with a quick flick of its tail, forcing its way through the door and bringing the wave of blue liquid with it.

And the room was silent, peaceful once more.

* * *

Danny's hands shook as he stared down at the trey of less-than-appetizing food in front of him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Sam." He replied cynically, almost hysterically. "I can _hear fish_." He had just explained his experience as well as he could to his two best friends. Their expressions could only be described as somewhere halfway between amazement and deep concern for his mental health.

Ever since first period, he hadn't been able to focus on anything. While the water had felt mysterious and intriguing before, now it felt _intruding_ and _uncomfortable_ and _overwhelming_.

"Maybe this isn't as bad as it seems." Tucker muttered between mouthfuls of his delicious meat. "Does this mean you can hear all animals now? Cause that would be sweet!"

"Says the one _eating_ said animals..." Sam replied in disgust, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry, Danny, we'll figure this out. Okay?"

The blue-eyed boy took a shaky breath and nodded, before choking on his own breath. A blue mist forced its way up his throat and into the air, quickly evaporating into nothing.

The three teenagers simply stared. A sick feeling rose in the youngest Fenton's stomach as he felt a massive wave of water coming straight towards them from the other end of the school. Several loud crashes and the rushing of water echoed from the hallway, followed by horrified screaming. The trio sat frozen at their table as a wave of water rushed in and chaos ensued.

The next thing Danny knew, crowds of screaming students were evacuating the lunchroom, teachers yelling for orderly lines and struggling to force the doors closed. Water continued pouring in from the hallway, forming a huge, stationary wave in the middle of the two-story room.

Chilly water lapped at their feet as the three shakily stood up. Danny subconsciously moved to stand in front of his friends, ready to protect them.

As always, they had been overlooked, forgotten even by the adults. But maybe it was for the best; after all, no one was around to witness any Merperson-related activities.

 _Ah, so **you** are the one I've been sensing..._

Horrified blue eyes snapped up to the top of the wave, where a dainty figure was perched. Glaring red eyes seemed to see inside his very soul, mercilessly studying each thought and imperfection.

Somehow Danny knew that this was a _Mermaid_ , exactly what his parents had been searching for for years.

"Who-who are you?" He managed to say, looking down fearfully as the water rose to his knees, holding him in place.

 _I am Laguna. But the better question would be **'who are you?'** dear boy._ The creature sniffed disdainfully, her mouth not opening as she spoke into Danny's mind. _Another hybrid, eh? Pathetic._

Dozens of questions swam around the boy's head, and a glance to Sam and Tucker revealed that they couldn't hear the Mermaid's voice like he could.

"Why are you here?" The youngest Fenton demanded, hoping his voice sounded braver than he felt. "Why are you flooding my school?"

The Mermaid cackled, and in a fluid motion the water lowered her down closer to the three shaking teenagers, close enough to reach out and touch them. _I know what your kind thinks of mine, **halfa**. You disgusting humans would give anything to capture us and cut us up into pieces in the name of science!_

The sneering creature had light green skin and black hair that went down to her waist. Her piercing, soulless red eyes were even scarier up close. Her tail was forest green with black fins that matched her hair. She wore a ragged purple bikini top with a few small white shells decorating the edges. On each of her webbed fingers were black, needle-sharp claws that Danny definitely didn't want coming any closer to him.

Just then, the water rose up past the black-haired boy's hips. The bright white hoops formed, and in seconds another Merperson was in the room.

The Mermaid screeched, covering her eyes from the flashy white light. The wave crashed down, no longer being manipulated by the green creature.

Danny looked over to his friends. Sam was holding a metal contraption that she had retrieved from her backpack, deemed the "Fenton Thermos" by the Fenton parents, that the three had found in the lab one day. They had taken it, hoping it would be useful for something.

 ** _How dare you?!_** Laguna seethed, red eyes lighting up in anger. Her lip curled in disgust at the sight of his new black and white form in front of her.

As quick as lightning, she shot towards him with claws outstretched. Danny let out a rather unmanly squeak and threw up his arms defensively.

Silence filled the room, and fearful green eyes opened to see that a wall of water had formed between him and his attacker, holding her back.

He slowly dropped his arms, and the water fell back down with hardly a splash, bringing the female Merperson with it.

With a gasp, he saw only the woman's smirk before the water around him tightened, yanking him under. She barreled into him, sharp nails slicing across his chest while he struggled to push her away.

Once he escaped the water's firm hold, the two creatures remained underwater, swiping at each other with their claws and pummeling the other's fins and stomach with their tails. The Merboy felt ridiculously outmatched; he had never actually engaged in a fight before _at all_ , much less with a Mermaid with painfully sharp nails and the ability to manipulate water so strongly.

He finally managed to use the surrounding water to push her away several feet, and before either could move, a horizontal column of blue light enveloped the green mermaid. The beam created numerous bubbles, which surrounded the woman as she was sucked up through the water.

 ** _You'll pay for this!_** She screeched again, replicating the sound of nails scraping across a blackboard, as she was forced into the metal contraption in Sams hands.

The trio caught their breath. The water level had risen to almost a story, and the two humans were standing atop a table to keep their heads above the water.

Danny looked down, wincing at the scrapes across his skin and aching bruises that ran down his tail.

He rose to the surface, sharing a relieved look with his two friends.

"Did you _see that?!_ " Tucker squealed, stuck in fanboy/panic mode.

The goth girl slapped him, though the effect was lessened by the water. "Thank God that soup thermos did something useful!" Her purple eyes softened when she saw her friend's injuries, which were already bleeding a blue-red substance that was clouding the water.

Danny frowned when he saw the doors were completely submerged, and the ceiling was almost within reach.

He grabbed his friends' arms, exhaustion already darkening his vision, and dove down with a splash.

* * *

Darkness filled his vision once again. Gentle hands brushed across his chest, applying some sort of cream that lessened the stinging. Soft voices muttered things he couldn't comprehend in his half-conscious state.

With a sigh, he blinked his eyes open to see the ceiling of his own room.

"Sleeping beauty awakes." He heard the voice of a certain black-haired girl tease.

"Wha-what's going on?"

"You passed out, and we brought you home." Tucker responded. "You've been asleep for _four days!_ "

" _Four days?!_ " The blue-eyed boy shot up, cringing at the pain it caused.

"Nah, it's only been a couple of hours." The techno-geek laughed.

"Knock it off, Tucker." Sam rolled her eyes before addressing her other friend. "How do you feel?"

Danny looked down at his stomach and legs, both of which were littered with bruises and scratches. However, it seemed they were already partially healed...

"I feel okay." He replied, watching in astonishment as one of the scrapes closed up before his eyes. " _Woah_..."

"Yeah. We think you heal faster now because of... you know." Sam said.

"What happened?"

"You got us out of the school, thankfully not around any crowds of people, so no one saw anything." Tucker explained. "They announced that Oceanus will be closed for a few days to fix the pipes and remove all the water."

"But the peculiar thing is that no one seems to know it was all caused by... a Mermaid." Sam continued, looking over to the thermos sitting ominously on Danny's nightstand.

Now that the trio could study it up close, the once-light-blue markings on the thermos had turned electric green, the color of the working Portal. Danny guessed this was an indicator that the contraption contained a Merperson inside, which was a cool feature.

"You didn't hear anything she said, did you?" The boy questioned.

"She talked?" Tucker asked in surprise. "I thought she was just making creepy faces at you the whole time."

Danny took a breath, and began telling his friends the dialogue they had missed.

" _Another hybrid?_ " Sam wondered aloud, saying it more as a statement than a question.

"She could have been bluffing... right?" Tucker added hopefully.

The blue-eyed teenager shook his head. "I'm not so sure about that, Tuck..."

"How could that even be possible in the first place? Your parents only made one Portal," Sam commented, "and that has to be the only way this could happen... right?"

"I don't know..." Danny said, shuddering at the thought of another 'halfa' somewhere out there. "I guess we'll just have to find out."

* * *

 **My first Mermaid OC has been introduced.. xD I was going to add an actual DP character, namely a variation of the Lunch Lady to keep the chapter constant with the 1st episode, but it just didn't seem to fit. Don't worry though, I'll definitely be adding several of the villains in later chapters, with more detailed powers and such!**

 **I hope you liked the chapter! :) It should be updated again within a few months! If you come up with any ideas, feel free to review or PM me!**

 **-Specter14 out**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! Sorry for taking so long again.**

 **Thanks to the following people who favorited/followed: Ms. McClue, xxShatteredPeacez, AcryWeaver, AnnTakamaki, Nayeli Phantom 28, Alicat1944, catsrulegirl, Rush721, Devious Purrloin, SoundBurst, cacophonous. silence, Bonuscat, Nagisa Tabitha Scholz, Izi Wilson, bigpboy, TheGoldenTrio16, Jewel moonstone, and Asj Johnson!**

 **Thanks for these people who reviewed: AKidWithAPen, Rush721, xxShatteredPeacez, The TRIGGERED Lemur, TimeZone13, Devious Purrloin, eeveemaster (guest), and Asj Johnson. Thanks so much for all the feedback! I'm glad y'all liked my OC lol, and I'm excited for Vlad's appearance too!**

 **This idea just came to me one day and I had to write it. So enjoy!**

 **Disclamer: I don't own any characters from the show Danny Phantom.**

* * *

A week had passed since the mermaid incident.

The school had finally opened again, the water damage and burst pipes repaired. But almost every day since the first attack, there had been another Merperson causing trouble in the small town of Amity Cove.

Because of this, the Fentons had tightened security. A day after the flooding, they had caught a glimpse of a Merman and hadn't stopped inventing since. Sensors were placed along the beach to sense any activity, and weapons were created to fight back against the creatures that were finally proven to exist.

This didn't make anything easier for Danny, of course. After being picked up by the "Fenton Finder," a device that sensed and pointed out directions towards the nearest Merperson, he tried his hardest to keep a low profile. Hearing his parents discuss the first experiments they planned to do once they caught a Merperson made him shiver with fear, but for the most part he hid the truth without a problem.

The main person he was worried about was his sister, Jazz.

She was the most perceptive and intelligent out of anyone he knew. This also meant that she was the first to show suspicion towards his lame excuses for staying out late and rushed explanations for minor injuries. Every time he noticed her curious eyes were focused on him, he couldn't help but wonder if she had pieced it together yet.

It was only a matter of time, he reminded himself with dread. There was no way he could hide his double life forever.

He was so grateful to have his friends, Sam and Tucker. No doubt without them, he would have already been caught and dissected. Together, they had become quite the Merperson-hunting team; they had prevented any major damage to the town for several days in a row when Mers decided to visit. And so far, the public had no idea what was truly behind the flooding incidents.

Little did they know, that would soon change.

* * *

Clownfish hid in the long pink annenomi and peered out as he swam by. Seahorses and minnows darted through the water, circling around his inky black tail playfully. Crabs scuttled across the bottom, throwing up clouds of particles in their wake. Sting rays gently rolled across the sand, searching for food. Coral of many different colors, shapes, and sizes surrounded him, making the area look like a child's coloring book.

If he looked out into the blue atmosphere, he would have seen silhouettes of a pod of whistling dolphins. If he looked the other way, he would have observed a lone hammerhead shark calmly searching for its next meal, fortunately keeping its distance.

The ocean was beautiful.

He flowed through the coral reef, watching all of the sea life in wonder. As he went by, several animals looked up in curiosity, and his ears could pick up some muffled, high pitched conversations from all around him.

He approached the edge of the reef. There was a drop off into a dark valley, dark green seaweed lining the cliffs. Seeing nothing especially dangerous, he flicked his tail and dove in, observing the different species of fish that darted through the plants. A few cautiously approached him, flipping lively around him when they realized he wasn't a threat. A few eels slithered out of the darkness in curiosity but remained close to the shadows.

In the darkness, his green-blue eyes glowed fiercely, and the white parts of his tail and fins seemed to glow slightly as well. His presence cast gentle rays of light onto the rocks.

All of the sudden, the atmosphere seemed to go silent. The fish disappeared into their hiding spots. The sound of cheerful chatter from the reef ceased. Even the sound of far off waves seemed to lessen.

An abrupt breath of air left his lungs, and a string of bubbles flew up to the surface.

Silence.

Danny looked around in confusion and fear. Suddenly, the trench he was in seemed cold and unforgiving.

After a few uncomfortable seconds of anxiously waiting for something to happen, he quickly flicked his tail to escape upwards.

Something moved in the corner of his vision. With barely any time to react, he found himself tangled in ropes.

He squirmed, thrashing around in the slightly glowing net. With no warning, he was pulled downwards.

 _Never thought I'd see another one of ya._

His green eyes jerked towards the source of the deep voice to see a glowing figure, smirking at his expense.

It was an unfamiliar merman.

 _Filthy hybrid. But one of a kind. Perfect for my collection._

The merman had shiny grey skin and bright green hair like kelp. His beady eyes were the same shade of green. Around his neck was a black necklace with a white skull on it, which for all Danny knew could have been real. His tail was black with dark purple fins, with some decorative bright blue markings that appeared to glow.

 _L-Let me go._ The boy demanded bravely through the thought-link, continuing to struggle in the tight net.

The merman only grinned. To Danny's dismay, he felt a prick in his arm, and the world faded to black.

* * *

He slowly blinked open his eyes.

It was dark.

The boy rose up from the cold floor, looking around in confusion.

He was in a cage.

And still underwater.

Wonderful.

He drifted up off of the metal ground. The cage must have been about seven feet square and seven feet tall, because he could easily swim up without hitting his head.

He grabbed the bars and looked out. He was in some sort of large dark room. Other cages littered the floor, and some even hung from the ceiling. What was in the cages made him even more angry.

All around him were sea animals of all kinds, many of which he had never seen before. Most, he guessed, were probably endangered or even close to extinct.  
Closest to him was a sea turtle who had retreated into its shell, a large grey fish that boredly circled its cage, and a huge glass container that held an unmoving blue whale. Luckily the whale's cage was partway filled with air, so at least the evil merman knew that whales had to breathe oxygen.

His fingers tightened on the strong metal bars. How dare anyone do this? How dare that merman keep dozens of innocent animals against their wills just to be admired and gawked at like artifacts in a museum?

 _Sam would hate this even more than I do._ He couldn't help but think to himself.

He turned to an adjacent wall of the cage, which appeared to have the door on it. He began attempting to jiggle it loose. He had to get out of there before that merman showed up. There was a keyhole, but unfortunately he didn't have anything with him that could pick a lock.

 _It's no use, kid._

He looked over to the meter-long fish, who had stopped circling to look at him sadly. Danny then realized that the fish was a bluefin tuna, an endangered breed like he had observed was a similarity between all of the captives.

The hybrid swam to the other side of the cage to get closer. _How long have you been here?_

 _I've lost count. At least a few months_. The tuna replied, not sounding very concerned. _My name's Skipper. What's yours?_

 _Danny._

 _Do you two really have to talk so loudly?_ The young merman looked over to see the turtle's head had come halfway out so he could glare at the two. Danny observed that there was a sizable crack on the side of his shell.

 _Don't listen to Caspian. He's a grouch_. The fish commented, amusedly flicking his fins.

Grumbling to himself, the sea turtle retracted back.

 _And that's Delta_. Skipper said, turning towards the whale who still hadn't moved. _In another week or two Skulker is going to have another blue whale on his hands._

 _Oh... she's pregnant?_ The boy realized aloud, looking at the large creature in surprise and sympathy. He had to get her out of there when he escaped. And the rest of the animals if he could.

All of the sudden, Danny heard the sound of a heavy door opening. He noticed that a lot of the animals had frozen in fear.

He looked around to see the merman, said to be named Skulker by Skipper, entering and smiling proudly at his collection. He now wore a belt made of some sort of grey and black scales. Hooked on the belt at his hip was what looked like a sharpened hunting knife and a pair of jingling metal keys.

 _So you're awake, halfa_. Skulker drawled, approaching the younger merman in the room. _Enjoy your last few days. Soon your pelt will sit at the foot of my bed!_

 _Ew!_ Danny cringed in horror, momentarily forgetting that he was the one in a cage. _What kind of sicko are you? And how dare you keep all of these animals here like this?_

 _Watch your mouth, whelp!_ The merman angrily grabbed and shook the metal container. _I can do whatever I please, and you can't do anything about it!_

As the man was yelling, Danny's fingers twitched behind his back. A gentle current of water nudged at the ring of keys hanging off of Skulker's side.

The keys gently floated down.

The merman stormed away through his chamber, muttering madly to himself and jostling a few more cages on the way to wherever he was heading.

With a relieved sigh, Danny stretched his arm out towards the keys, and a current picked them up and brought them through the bars. Once Skulker was out of earshot, he began trying each key on the lock.

Over the past week, the boy had practiced his newfound skill of manipulating water. Hydrokinesis was definitely a handy trick.

The animals around him had perked up and were now staring at him in amazement.

 _This kid's a savage!_ Caspian exclaimed in shock, now fully emerged from his cracked shell.

Skipper circled around his cage excitedly. _Woohoo! We're saved!_

 _Click_. The cage door swung open. The boy smiled and quickly moved on to the nearest locked cage, which happened to be the one containing the turtle.

Excited whispers filled the room, and Danny sensed the eyes of the other trapped creatures watching him.

In the commotion, Delta had awoken. She slowly swam closer, and now her swollen belly was visible. _What's going on?_ Her voice sounded like the low tones of a xylophone in Danny's mind.

 _We're getting out of here!_ Skipper told her excitedly as the Merboy moved on to unlocking the tuna's cage. The whale simply watched in amazement. _All thanks to Danny!_

 _Another hybrid?_ The whale wondered aloud, sounding slightly surprised.

The boy froze momentarily, multiple questions running through his head. _You know him? The other one?_

 _Yes. Plasmius is not someone you want to run into._ Delta warned, shuddering and refusing to elaborate. Danny blinked, mentally opening his mouth to ask more questions.

But before he had the chance, Skipper darted out of his cage, joining Caspian. _We'll have to get Delta out last. She's the only one who needs air out of all of us._

The whale bowed her head meekly. _I'm sorry for being so much trouble._

Danny shoved all of his unanswered questions to the back of his mind and moved on to a few more cages, working as quickly as he could to try all of the keys. They seemed to repeat at random intervals, which was making the process take longer than it should've. His hands shook as he hurried. Who knew how long they had until the Merman returned? When would he realize that his keys were missing?

 ** _HEY!_**

 _I guess he realized that his keys are missing._ Danny said nervously, opening the cage of a grateful manta ray.

 _I'll distract him._ Skipper offered bravely. With a flip of his tail, the large fish sped off.

 _I'm coming with you!_ Caspian followed closely behind, refusing to let his friend face Skulker alone.

After a few more minutes, Danny finally reached the last cage, which was full of dozens of little fish that were several different bright colors. Once they were free, they brushed up against him lovingly before swimming away together.

Crashes came from nearby, followed by Skulker's enraged shouting. Danny flicked his tail and swam towards the noise. He saw that Skipper was circling the Merman teasingly, while the sea turtle constantly launched himself towards Skulker and then retracted into his shell to become an oddly-shaped cannonball of sorts.

An odd but effective way to be annoying. Danny couldn't complain.

The Merman looked livid. Once he saw the black and white tailed halfa, his anger grew even more. _You caused this didn't you?! Disgusting half-breed!_ He threw himself towards Danny, sharp claws outstretched. _I'll make you suffer!_

The boy swiftly dodged the attack, manipulating the water to use the Merman's momentum against him and knock him into an open cage. The manta ray appeared and pushed the door shut, winking at Danny before whooshing away.

The lock clicked.

Danny grinned as the Merman practically attacked the door, screaming words the boy's parents would definitely scold him for saying.

 _Enjoy a taste of your own medicine!_ He called back with a smirk as he returned to Delta's cage.

 _Get ready. We're going to get you out of here._ Skipper told her, having followed Danny back. Once the glass door opened, the whale dove down to exit the low doorway. As she came closer, the Merboy just then realized how massive she actually was. Blue whales weren't deemed the largest animals on Earth for no reason.

 _Thank you so much, child. You have a heart of gold._ The gentle giant approached Danny, ever so gently pushing her snout into his outstretched hand in thanks. The boy let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

Had someone told him a month ago that he would come face to face with a blue whale, he would have laughed in their face. Yet here he was.

 _Let's get out of here!_ The tuna interrupted his thoughts anxiously.

And they did.

* * *

When they finally found the exit out of the lair was when Danny realized that he was not somewhere in the ocean like he had assumed.

A constant burst of energy seemed to radiate from his surroundings. There was something about the water that made him feel more awake and energized than usual.

The surrounding atmosphere was a mix of aqua, green and blue. There was no surface to rise to, and no bottom in sight. All around, Danny could see various marine life, groups of fish and dolphins and orcas and jellyfish and octopi and many, many others. Clusters of Mermen and Mermaids swam in the distance, talking and laughing in melodic tones.

Beyond the Merpeople sat a gigantic, endless white city.

 _Whoa..._ Danny whispered through the mind-link. The animals simply smiled amusedly at him.

 _Welcome to Atlantis, kid_. Caspian the turtle said, also admiring the beautiful, blinding white structures that never seemed to end.

 _Amazing, isn't it?_ Delta brushed up against the hybrid lovingly.

 _Now we just need to find a portal._ Skipper informed, already over the spectacular sight he had seen many times before.

 _A portal?_ The boy repeated in surprise.

 _Random portals between the Earth and Atlantis open up._ The fish explained. _That's how we travel back and forth so easily._

Suddenly, there was a whooshing noise. A few dozen feet away from the four, a swirling vortex formed.

 _Like that._

The turtle and fish fearlessly entered the swirl, hesitantly followed by Delta. Danny took a deep breath, looked longingfully at the metropolis in the distance once more, and then followed.

Bubbles were all around him. He could only see white light and shades of aqua. He felt like he was floating up, up, up...

Then he was in the ocean again.

The blue whale was already surfacing a few dozen feet above him. Skipper and Caspian chased each other playfully, clearly happy to be free again.

He swam up to find out where he was.

Maybe a mile away was the beach and the surrounding forest. It looked to be the late afternoon. He thought back to when he had gone for a swim that morning.

He had been gone all day.

* * *

"Danny! Where have you been?"

"Hi." He managed to say before he was enveloped in a hug from Sam. "Um, I was just captured by a crazy Merman, put in a cage alongside dozens of endangered sea animals, and then escaped and saved all of them."

"What?!" The girl exclaimed in shock.

"Oh, also, I was just in the MerZone and it was... _awesome_."

"What?!" Tucker repeated, just as confused and surprised as his female friend. " _Wait-wait-wait_ , back up. You went _into the portal?_ "

"No." The boy replied sheepishly. "I was kind of knocked out for a brief amount of time. I have no idea how Skulker brought me to his lair, but it was probably through a natural portal."

" _Knocked out?!_ "

"Natural portal?"

"Oh, and I learned that the name of the 'other hybrid' is Plasmius."

His statement was met with two blank, shocked looks.

Danny barely stifled a laugh at his friends' responses. "I have a lot to explain, don't I? Well, let me start from the beginning."

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, deep in Lake Michigan, Wisconsin, a Merman sat proudly in his underwater armchair. Surrounding him was a large green and gold themed room, several stories tall and filled with exquisite decorations and water-resistant furniture.

Three dark forms slithered in through the open doorway.

 _Sir, we have received word that there is another hybrid in existence_ , One of the eels reported to him, _off the coast of what humans refer to as California._

 _Excellent work. You are dismissed_. The sea snakes promptly left. _Interesting_. The Merman's grey and red tail twitched, propelling him upwards to get a better view of the large computer screen on the wall in front of him. A rotating depiction of the globe zoomed in until it showed a small town off the west coast of the United States.

 _I suppose it's time to pay the dear **Fentons** a visit._

* * *

 **At this point I don't have too much of a plan for this story other than meeting Vlad sometime in the very near future. So, we'll see how soon the next update comes out.**

 **If you have an opinion, would you prefer Vlad to be evil and petty like in the canon series, or more of a mentor figure? I'd like to hear your opinions before I decide! :)**

 **Anyway I hope you liked the chapter and see ya next update!**

 **-Specter14**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello! I have returned! xD Sorry for the wait. I didn't exactly know what I was doing with this chapter until just a few days ago when I thought of some new plot ideas.**

 **Anyway thanks to these people who favorited/followed the story: sarathehedgehog0, KingJGamer, TheSmilingRose, a6spike, PhantomPhoenixGirl, Kaylea221, Pokestar24, KittenClaws76, KelseyAlicia, Heart of the Demons, and ebreau123!**

 **Thanks to everyone who reviewed: Nagisa Tabitha Scholz, Jewel moonstone, Rush721, TimeZone13, AlecGateway, AKidWithAPen, TheSmilingRose, KelseyAlicia (thanks for your multiple reviews!), and Heart of the Demons! Also thank you to those who gave input on whether Vlad should be a mentor or a villain! I think I've decided to go somewhere in the middle, but that could change between now and that chapter. ;) If anyone else would like to share their opinion, please do so! I love hearing feedback!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the show Danny Phantom; they belong to Nickelodeon.**

* * *

"Hello, Amity Cove. I'm Tiffany Snow, and as some of you may already know, just minutes ago something extraordinary happened in our town. There were reported sightings of, you'll never guess it, _Mermaids_ near the town's high school, Oceanus High." Some shaky video clips of the two creatures riding on waves in the distance showed up on the screen. "Witnesses reported that at least two of these once-thought-to-be mythological creatures were flooding the streets."

"I was there during the fight between them, a woman and a boy, I think. They fought with giant waves of water that they could move with their hands! Then the black and white one caught the other in some sort of metal device that shot blue light out one end!" A teenage girl recalled, surrounded by a few of her speechless friends. "I still can't believe that happened right in front of us!"

"He was there, and then he was gone! Like a—like a phantom!" A shocked man explained to the camera after seeing one of the Merpeople up close.

"I don't feel safe anymore in this town, not now that there are monsters roaming the streets! Our children are in danger! Something needs to be done." A middle-aged woman said fearfully, holding the hands of her two frightened children.

The reporter appeared back on screen. "Investigators and the police are currently gathering evidence at the scene, but the two creatures are now nowhere to be found. I don't know about you, Amity Cove, but I'm just surprised that Mermaids and... Mer _men_ , I guess... exist! Or could this video footage be a ruse using special effects, and could the witnesses be merely hallucinating? At this point, anything's possible. We will keep you updated should more sightings occur. Anyway, I'm Tiffany Snow, and now for the weather with Lance Thunder!"

"Well... it was bound to happen eventually." Tucker commented, looking sheepishly at his two shocked friends. They had gone to Sam's house to hang out, but their fun had been rudely interrupted by the news story that they had been dreading for weeks.

"I should have been more careful..." Danny muttered, putting his head in his hands. "My parents will be ecstatic. They'll probably make it their new life goal to catch me."

"Don't worry. We won't let that happen." Sam put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly and glared at the meat lover's teasing look. "At least it took almost two weeks of constant Mer attacks for people to notice. It gave us some time to get used to dealing with it."

"Yeah." The hybrid sighed.

"Look on the bright side. Now you're famous!"

"Tuck," The blue-eyed boy laughed humorlessly, "that's not true. I'm _infamous_. There's a difference."

"Whatever. But imagine how many girls at school will be drooling over you." The techno-geek said jealously. The goth couldn't help but chuckle at Danny's dumbfounded expression.

"What kind of girl would ' _drool over_ ' a creature she previously thought was a myth and who appeared in a horrifying fight on TV?!"

"Paulina would." Sam replied, smirking when the halfa blushed at the mention of his crush's name. "She's so shallow that I could step in her and my feet wouldn't get wet."

"Yeah, yeah, Paulina's a bitch. We get it, Sam." Tucker grumbled. "But she's still hot." The two boys laughed at the sour look on the girl's face.

" _Boys_..." She muttered with an eye roll to her friends' amusement.

* * *

"Did you see the news?!" Jack Fenton bellowed the minute Danny got home that evening. "Now everyone knows that we were right all this time! Merpeople _do_ exist!"

Jazz scoffed bitterly from the couch, her teal eyes focused on the news reruns. "I still can't believe it." Surely the situation was having an effect on her 'always right' streak. Ever since the Fenton parents had claimed to have seen a Merperson, she had doubted it for every second. But now, it wasn't just her parents that believed it. Even she was starting to be convinced that Merpeople were indeed real.

"Isn't it great, honey?" Maddie asked, smiling warmly at her son.

"Yeah, sure." The boy replied, forcing a neutral tone.

"Did you see the black and white one? The news is calling it the Phantom!" Jack practically vibrated with excitement. "I can't wait to get a closer look at it! We could study it's behavior and learn so much more about Mers!"

"Now, now, Jack." Maddie said with a playful laugh, as if they weren't talking about cruelly catching and experimenting on an innocent creature. "The main purpose of catching it would be _dissecting_ it. It would be much more informational. Do Merpeople have organs and bones? If so, how does their bone structure differ from humans and other aquatic animals that we already know about? Just imagine what we could learn!"

The man grinned at his wife. "You're right, Maddie! It's at times like these that I remember why I married you."

"Oh, Jack." The woman rolled her eyes happily at her husband's comment.

Meanwhile, the youngest Fenton was trying desperately to fight back his nausea.

"Are you okay, Danny? You're looking a little green." His mother wondered concernedly.

"I'm fine." He managed to say before he raced up the stairs to his room. On the way there, he made a brief stop in the bathroom to throw up.

* * *

" _Oh my God_..." Danny breathed in disbelief. It was the next morning, and he was on the verge of slamming his head into his locker repeatedly until he was knocked unconscious.

A few feet away, as Sam had predicted, the most popular girl in the school was ranting to the rest of the A-List about how hot and dreamy the Phantom was. The inside of her locker had already been decorated to a creepy degree with the few pictures of Phantom that existed.

Meanwhile his two friends were shaking with uncontrollable laughter. He glared at them, which only made them laugh even harder.

"You're completely red, dude." The techno-geek wheezed, almost falling onto the floor.

"Shut up." The boy grumbled, walking past them and down the hallway to get as far from the crowd of popular kids as he could.

* * *

Gym class had just ended.

There was just one more period to get through, and then the day would be over. That was the only thing keeping Danny Fenton sane.

"Hey, Fentertainment? What's got you in such a mood?" Dash shoved the black haired boy from behind, almost knocking him down. They were just outside of the boys locker room, and it seemed that Dash still had some pent up anger from failing his math test earlier that day. "Are you jealous that my girlfriend Paulina even likes a freak with a fish tail more than you?" The bully snickered at his own insult.

Danny glared at the taller blond boy, clearly not in the mood to put up with him. He noticed his friends looking at him sympathetically from the corner of his eye. "Go away, Dash."

"Why should I?" The football star asked with a smirk, clearly not leaving anytime soon.

"Leave me alone! I mean it!" A crowd was forming around them.

"You need to cool down, Fenton!" The blond boy ripped the cap off his newly refilled water bottle and dumped the contents onto the hybrid in front of him. The football players around them started laughing, some amused onlookers doing the same. "That's better."

The halfa stood in there in a state of shock before sprinting off to the sound of the bully's laughter. He had to get away before—

As he entered the restroom just inside of the locker room, the white hoops formed. He threw himself into a stall just in time, his friends close in pursuit.

He flopped to the floor, cringing in disgust. Who knew how long ago it had been cleaned?

"Had enough, Fentoenail?"

His breath caught in his throat, both because of fear and because he couldn't breathe anymore. He felt his finned ears puff up around his hair like they did when he felt strong emotions. There were large enough cracks in the stall for anyone to peek through and see a white-haired merman, now known as the Phantom. Luckily, his friends were there to protect his secret.

"Back off, _Baxter_." Sam growled menacingly, not even caring that she had run into the boys' bathroom.

"I always knew you were a weirdo, _Manson_." The quarterback spat, but he didn't dare to hit her. And that wasn't only because she was a girl. Sam could be very intimidating sometimes, even to him. "Freaks..." He and his group of friends left the room, leaving the trio there alone.

"That was a close one." The young merman said with a wheeze as he involuntarily flopped around like a fish out of water. Feeling the gallons of water in the pipes around him was torture, but he wasn't anywhere near desperate enough to stick his head in the toilet, or anything that drastic.

Seconds later the light appeared, and he could finally breathe normally again.

"He's such a jerk. And he doesn't know who he's messing with." Sam rolled her purple eyes as her friend shakily came out of the stall.

"I bet if he knew he'd been wailing on the Phantom, he'd wet his pants out of fear." Tucker reassured his friend with a grin.

Danny snorted. "Yeah, right." The late bell rang, causing the trio to flinch.

 _Just one more hour_. The boy thought tiredly to himself.

* * *

The minute that the youngest Fenton got home, he could tell something was different. When his mother saw him approaching from across the beach, she quickly returned to the house to meet him.

 _Somehow, I have a feeling that this day is about to get worse._

"We caught one." She informed breathlessly behind red goggles that glinted almost evilly.

Danny's mouth ran dry. "What?"

"We finally caught a Merperson." His mother told him again excitedly. "It's in the holding tank now. We're about to run a few tests on it before we do some experimentation." The boy felt the sick feeling coming back similarly to the night before, but he forced himself to smile as his mother continued. "This is a huge milestone, Danny! First the story on the news, now this! Finally we can collect some concrete evidence!"

"That's great, Mom."

She pulled him into a hug, and he felt almost guilty that his skin crawled from the contact. "How was school?"

"Fine." He wanted so badly to run from her. His intense fear of his own mother made him feel even more nauseous.

"That's good." He breathed a silent sigh of relief when she let go of him. He spaced out as she said something about checking on her specimen and left to return to the lab.

He breathed deeply for the first time in several minutes before sprinting to the bathroom to throw up. Again.

* * *

Danny stepped out of the house and onto the beach. The afternoon sun sank towards the endless ocean, in perfect view from his house. The line where the sky met the ocean was just starting to change color.

He took a deep breath before forcing himself to cross the wooden walkway that led to his parents' lab.

He was terrified, both for his own demise if his parents found out _and_ for the nameless Merperson who was likely suffering in the structure in front of him.

He had to do this. If he could somehow help, he had to try.

The boy approached the door. Hands shaking, he entered.

 _They won't hurt me. They won't hurt me_. He silently assured himself.

"Oh, hey, Danno!" His father greeted boisterously. "Come to see our first experiment?"

"Mhm." It was the only thing he could manage to respond with without throwing up again.

He looked over to where the makeshift holding tank was. Inside the glass was a grey-skinned teenager with shoulder-length, stringy hair the color of dirt, looking to be not much older than Danny was. His tail was dark grey, paired with brown flippers that matched his hair. He was pressed up against the back of the tank, as far away from the scientists as possible. Upon seeing the hybrid, the Merman's bright green eyes widened.

 _Y-You have to help me. Please!_ The trapped Mer pleaded.

Danny forced himself to look away and tried to focus on his mother, who was rambling about the tests that had already been done.

"And look what we found it with!" She gestured to a strange, reasonably large machine off to the side, which was made of rocks, sea shells, strands of sea grass, and other oceanic materials. It reminded Danny a bit of a motorcycle but compatible for a creature with a tail. It appeared that his parents had already disassembled part of it, probably to discover how it worked.

 _Please help me get out of here! They're going to kill me!_ The pure fear and desperation in the other teenager's voice made Danny's stomach churn. Luckily, his parents were too preoccupied to notice.

"Since Mers are the only creatures in the ocean with opposable thumbs, one must have built this strange underwater vehicle!" His father exclaimed in fascination.

"It's primitive compared to human machinery, but it still displays a significant level of intelligence." His mom added, sounding as if she was talking about an animal.

 _Please!_

"That's cool." Danny answered, hoping his voice didn't sound too strained. He looked over to the other side of the lab where the Portal bubbled. For some reason, it calmed him. When his parents resumed their scientific talk to each other about how to best dissect their specimen, the boy telepathically replied to the scared Merman that remained motionless in the tank.

 _Don't worry, I'll get you out of here. But not now_. He thought to the trapped Mer. _It's too risky until they leave._

 _Thank you!_ The hybrid almost smiled when he heard the other male's overwhelming relief.

 _Don't thank me yet. What's your name?_

 _Johnny. But my friends call me Thirteen. What's yours?_

 _Danny. But the news calls me Phantom._ The two teenagers couldn't help but crack a smile despite their situation.

* * *

That night, Danny began his rescue attempt.

Before he did anything else, the halfa texted his friends to let them know what was going on. At first they were reluctant to let him do it alone, but eventually they agreed to meet him at the private beach in an hour's time. If Danny wasn't there by then, they had permission to panic and come save him from his own parents.

Then, he was called down for dinner. He had somehow persuaded his parents to take a break for some celebratory pizza before they began dissecting. He couldn't comprehend how they could eat normally while thinking about such a disturbing topic, but he wasn't going to complain.

After about ten minutes of forcing down a slice of pizza, he excused himself from the table with the lie that he had a lot of homework (well, it was technically true, but he didn't plan on doing said homework). From there, he went up to his room, escaped out the window, and headed silently to the lab as the sky turned from purple to dark blue.

He rushed in, immediately heading to the control panel. He had to hurry so he wouldn't be caught ruining his parents' first experiment. Even as a human, messing with the Fentons' research was practically a death sentence.

 _Thank goodness you're back._

 _What, you didn't trust me?_ The hybrid thought back, half joking. _Just to warn you, I don't know what most of these buttons do, so I'm sorry in advance if I somehow hurt you._

 _As long as I get out of here, I don't care_. The Merman flicked his tail to swim closer to his savior. _I've been trying to use the water to break out, but my abilities seem to be restricted in here._

Danny finally spotted a button that appeared to be the release. Brace yourself. Upon pressing it, alarms began blaring, but the glass container did begin to open. _Partial success... so far, at least._

The Mer swam out, bringing the water with him. _I can't thank you enough, Danny._

 _We both need to leave_. The blue-eyed boy hurried towards the back exit in hopes to avoid his parents. _Get out of here._

 _You don't need to tell me twice_. The Merman dove for the Portal, leaving his broken vehicle behind. In a flash of light, he was gone.

Meanwhile the youngest Fenton shakily left the lab through the back door and faced the open ocean. It was his only escape besides the front walkway, which was in plain sight of his house. He hadn't gone swimming this late yet, especially not so close to his house, and his parents' sensors would definitely pick him up once he transformed. But he didn't have much of a choice.

He flinched when he heard familiar shouting over the alarm that continued to blare. With barely a splash, he dove in.

As he swam through the cold water, he made sure to give the coast a wide berth. With any luck, he was avoiding the reach of the sensors that his parents had set up. Fortunately, Maddie and Jack didn't have access to the Mansons' private beach. That meant that it was one of the only safe places for Danny and his friends to meet, at least for the time being.

He could feel his adrenaline starting to wear off, leaving him exhausted. It had been a long, stressful day. He didn't want to think about returning home again, not after what he had just been through.

The white-haired Mer finally reached the familiar shore, relieved to see his friends were there waiting for him. He would have hated being alone after what had just happened.

"Thank God you're here." Sam muttered in relief, grabbing his hand and pulling him onto dry sand.

"We were about to head to your house. It's almost eight." Tucker informed, handing him a towel. Danny had texted them a little before seven, so the two teenagers were on the verge of panic until they saw a glowing figure swimming towards them under the waves.

The transformation happened, and the two humans shielded their eyes from the blinding flash of light. At night, the hoops of light appeared even brighter than normal. Luckily, the private beach had enough tree cover to prevent anyone in town from seeing the flash.

Danny all but fell asleep in the sand. He was soaked, tired, and afraid of facing his parents after that ordeal. There was a chance that they had been too preoccupied with the loss of their 'specimen' that they didn't notice his absence, but nonetheless he was worried that they would suspect him. He had left the house without telling them, and his disappearance conveniently happened at the same time that someone released their Merperson. They weren't stupid, even if the town used to perceive them that way. They were scientists, and some of the best out there. They literally punched a hole into another dimension, after all.

"I'm glad it's over." He mumbled. "But I don't want to go back."

"I don't blame you." The girl lowered herself down next to him. "I can't imagine how scary that must have been. It's good that the Merman wasn't aggressive towards you."

"Hopefully he won't be coming back to cause trouble." The blue-eyed boy frowned. "I don't want to fight him after this. He seemed nice."

"Maybe you can be friends." Tucker responded. "Wouldn't that be awesome? Being friends with a Merperson?"

"Hey, what about Danny?" Sam accused playfully, slapping her black friend lightly on the arm. "I'm pretty sure he qualifies."

"You guys have a communication barrier with Mers, anyway." The hybrid added. "A lot can understand English, I think, but humans can't hear their telepathic language." The two other teens nodded. They were aware that Merpeople conversed with one another and with aquatic animals through a telepathic link. In fact, Danny (and Plasmius, the other hybrid in existence somewhere) were supposedly the only ones who could communicate with both spoken language and telepathically.

Tucker checked the time on his PDA. "It's almost eight thirty. You should get home, dude, before your parents realize you're missing."

"You're right." The other boy reluctantly stood up, staggering a bit before regaining his balance. He felt sick again at the thought of returning home, but he had to. The longer he waited, the more likely his family would be suspicious.

The trio walked back into town, enjoying the sound of crashing waves and the sight of the full moon reflecting off of the ocean. Amity Cove was a quiet, peaceful town at night... except for the occasional Mer attack, of course. They went their separate ways, promising to check in with each other once they got home.

When Danny arrived, his house was uncharacteristically quiet. To his relief, there were no angry parents waiting for him. They would probably stay in the lab well into the next day, as they did relatively often with their bigger projects. They were probably devastated, but they would get over it... and probably move on to catching the Phantom instead. They likely didn't even notice that their son was gone, so that meant that they wouldn't suspect him.

Things definitely could have gone a lot worse, Danny had to admit. With any luck, keeping his identity secret and dealing with Merpeople (and Merpeople hunters) would only get easier as time went on. He hoped.

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoyed that. I have plans for the next two chapters, so hopefully they should come out in a timely manner... But no promises. xD Anyway I hope you guys had a great holiday and New Year! Bye until next time!**

 **-Specter14**


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